My life from A-Z

A. Age: 23

B. Bed size: Full

C. Chore that you hate: Taking laundry out of the dryer/folding hot laundry. I just can't do it. That whole cotton phobia thing comes into this. 

D. Dogs: None for me, thanks!

E. Essential start to your day: Taking my basal body temperature. If I don't get it at the start of the day, I have to skip that day so I think it's pretty essential! 

F. Favourite color: Green.

G. Gold or Silver: Silver or white gold.

H. Height: 5'4. 

I. Instruments you play: I played the flute/piccolo a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

See? Told you.

J. Job title: Astronaut.

K. Kids: None yet.

L. Live: Florida.

M. Mother's name: Christine.

N. Nicknames: Hufflepuff.

O. Overnight hospital stays: None that I can remember.

P. Pet peeve: IRL: People not getting into the turn lane until the very last second. Online: People who don't break their walls of text into paragraphs. 

Q. Quote from a movie: "Once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you, and then it's nothing but work, work, work all the time." (Picked this one because I was just talking about it with Josh the morning in reference to a scene in Breaking Bad.)

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: Two sisters, Felicia (25) and Sierra (12). 

T. Time you wake up: Sometime between 6am and 6pm, usually. 

U. Underwear: Microfiber bikinis almost exclusively. That good ol' cotton phobia, again.

V. Vegetable you hate: I actually had to look up a list on wikipeida because I couldn't think of one off the top of my head. There are a lot of vegetables I don't like or don't prefer, but hate is a pretty strong word. I'm going to go with onions because while I don't mind the flavor (and will cook with onion powder or salt) the texture and sliminess skeeves me out. Just so you know, there is apparently a vegetable called Fiddlehead, and Chrysanthemums are technically vegetables.

W. What makes you run late: Not being able to find things like keys or shoes.

X. X-Rays you've had: I honestly couldn't tell you. At least: mouth, head, wrist, chest, and ankle. 

Y. Yummy food that you make: Lo Mien! I'd actually rather make it at home than get it from most Chinese places. I use a variation of this recipe and usually add in some chicken or left-over pork chops.

Z. Zoo animal: Definitely zebra. I also love me some penguins. 

Is there such a thing as internet privacy?

Google+ has started to crack down on their real name policy. Some people are against this, as they feel having a fake name keeps their account more private. Others respond that there is no privacy on the internet. You shouldn't post anything that you wouldn't want the world to see.

The topic of internet privacy has been brought up many times before, mostly when people have to deal with the real life consequences of what they post online. Things like teachers being fired over a rant on their blog. I've heard over and over again that it's their own fault, because the internet isn't private. It just isn't. Doesn't matter if what you got in trouble for was in a "private" email, if it was posted on the internet you should expect someone else to find it.

I don't really agree with this line of thinking.

Is most of the internet private? No, it's not. I take part in an online forum and I know that basically anyone could go on there and find my posts. I divulge personal information that may not be wise, and talk about political beliefs that could be detrimental when looking for a job. If someone happened to randomly come across the postings I would have no one to blame but myself.

However, I think that is different than someone purposely seeking out information just to hurt me, or someone giving this information just to hurt me. I also think it's completely different than getting access to non-public posts on my social networking sites or my email. If I say something incriminating in an IM, and then that person screenshots the IM and starts showing it around, I don't think I should be told "well nothing's private on the internet - it's your own fault".

If that is true then it should also be true for anything you say, write, or do anytime anywhere. When posting information that is supposed to be private online, those who gain access to such information do so with the understanding that such information is not to be shared. Because not everyone has access to everything online (without hacking) I do think there are some spots within the internet framework that should be considered just as private as a home, car, office, etc. Just like people can take screenshots on the internet people can take photos, videos, sound recordings, etc IRL. To me sending an email about a medical condition should be no different than telling someone about it in person. Entering my social security number into a webform should be just like physically writing it down on a paper form. Employers should have no more access to my private social networking page than they do to my diary. I really don't understand the concept that anything I do on the internet is public information, when that doesn't apply to other things such as my telephone conversations. Maybe one of you can enlighten me?

I would like to note that I don't have an issue with police looking at private posting on the internet, as long as they have a warrant. If they need a warrant to search my home they should need a warrant to search my facebook.

Basic Instructions

A week or so ago I started reading a web-comic called "Basic Instructions". Three times a week Scott Meyer uploads a comic with the premise of teaching you how to do something. The title is always "how to" something, such as "How to Sway Someone to Your Political Opinion". Nine times out of ten the title seems like something you might actually want to know. Then comes four panels "teaching" you how to do whatever the title says. The instructions are often believable enough, but the characters portraying the instructions do so in a way you wouldn't expect. The instructions for the above title were, "When faced with disagreement, lay out your position as clearly as possible." See? Sounds like good advice. But one of the guys in the comic is trying to explain why having the murderer in a cop show be the bad guy is offensive and biased. Here, I'll show you an example:

That picture turned out a lot smaller than I thought it would, so for my vision impaired friends click [here] to go to that comic's page.

Scott employs a really neat way of drawing his comics, using all real people for his models (called rotoscoping). He takes pictures of his friends in the poses needed and then traces over them using Photoshop and Illustrator. Since each pose and costume requires a real person to pose for it, you'll see the same poses used different ways throughout the comic. His wife has written a blog post about the process [here].

I've really enjoyed them so far, and I still have a few years of archives to go through. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as well!

How I Shop

I don't like shopping. Not just clothes shopping, but any kind of shopping. If at all possible I like to order things online instead of visiting a brick and mortar store. This has been to my advantage since I've been ill and thus stuck at home all day.

When I do have to visit a "real" store it is usually for one of 4 reasons:

1. Groceries. It's pretty difficult around here to shop for groceries online. We also lack any kind of ice cream delivery service, depressingly.
2. I need new clothes. Some clothes I'm able to buy online, but often times new work clothes have to be bought at a physical store to make sure they are flattering.
3. We need something that can't be found online, that would cost too much to ship, or is cheaper to buy in person. Usually before this happens we do whatever comparison shopping we can online first.
4. There's a deadline. Sometimes we just can't wait for something to be shipped, and can't afford overnight or second day delivery. In these cases we have no choice but to go searching through brick and mortar stores hoping we can find it that way.

Getting into Swagbucks has actually made my online shopping habit worse. Instead of going to Target and buying my sister's wedding gift off of her registry, I was able to buy the exact same thing on Amazon using the gift cards I've earned. If only I could buy *everything* on Amazon.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation.

Why I Love My Hometown

There is only one reason why I love my home town, and that is because some of my best friends live here. When we do finally move somewhere cooler that is likely the only thing I will miss. Perhaps I can convince them to move with us?

Hurricane Season also has it's perks. The really bad ones (Category 3 and up) and no fun, but the tropical storms and low category ones can be nice and exciting. Not everyone gets to meet Jim Cantore.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation.

Why I Hate My Hometown

There are many reasons why I hate my hometown. The first and most obviously isn't limited to just Panama City, but the whole region. It's too freakin' hot. Not only is it hot, but it is also humid. Summer lasts pretty much from March till November. During this time if you cannot leave your air conditioned house even to check the mail without breaking into a sweat. It's horrible.

The second reason is it's proximity to Panama City Beach. Spring Breakers and college kids off for summer flock here like their lives depend on it. The whole city panders to them, so if you're *not* into the party scene there's not much for you to do. There are certain main streets you cannot go down after dark without the risk of some skank flashing you. I don't know how many times Girls Gone Wild has gotten in trouble for filming underage girls here. One more reason it's horrible.

And if you're not dealing with drunk college kids, it's illiterate rednecks. These people sure do love the Confederate Navy Flag for some reason. SMH.

One day we will finish school and be able to move somewhere that doesn't have these problems. I do know that everywhere has it's own problems, but some of them are more bearable than others.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation. Image from [here].

The Story of My Most Serious Injury

I've had two very serious injuries. One of them happened when I was a child and I don't even remember it. The other happened in high school or just after and I remember it clearly. The first one still causes me trouble today, while the second does not.

When I was in pre-k or kindergarten I fell off the monkey bars. My mother was told that I had bruised the bone on my ankle by the emergency room doctor. They didn't take an x-ray. They didn't put it in a cast. They just said to keep it elevated for a few weeks and alternate hot and cold packs. It took me much longer to heal than it should have.

My freshman year in high school I joined the marching band. A little while into the school year I started to have a lot of pain in my ankle. When I went to see a podiatrist I found out that I had not bruised the bone after all, but actually broke it. Since it wasn't in a cast or anything it didn't heal properly and will probably always cause me some problems. I ended up getting tendinitis while in the marching band, and cannot run long distances without the risk of getting it again. I had to wear special insoles for a while but don't anymore. As long as I don't take up any sports that require the use of my feet I should be fine.

The second injury is why I put the picture of the chicken soup in this blog post. One summer day either right before my senior year or right after I made some chicken soup and then sat down at the table to eat it. I've always like my soup hot so it was boiling when I took it off the stove. Apparently when I put it down on the table it was slightly off the edge so the whole thing spilled on my thigh.

Thankfully my older sister was home taking a shower at the time. She heard me scream, ran out of the bathroom, and dragged me into the shower. After cooling down the burn a little bit she put toothpaste on the burn, then a washcloth, then an ice pack. I don't remember if she called Mom or if she was already on her way home, but mom came home shortly after that and took me to the emergency room. The doctor said that I was really lucky Felicia responded the way I did, as otherwise I could have needed a skin graft. I had a really bad, ugly scar on the majority of my thigh for many years but it's almost gone now. I can only see it if I look for it and other people probably can't tell at all.

Even though the memory of the burn is still vivid in my mind I still like my soup boiling hot. The difference is now I always make sure it's on the table properly.

Why am I telling you this? Check out [this post] for explanation. Image from [here].

Need some inspiration?

I recently came across this post by Darren Barefoot which includes 55 blog topic ideas. I've decided to start using some of those ideas, and everyone else is welcome to do it as well. I was going to do one every day (or every other day, or whenever I have time) but I realized you can't really write about all of them because some are contradictory. So I'm just going to start at the top and write about the ones I feel like. I think some of them are going to be very interesting.

Do drugs *really* make everything better?

As many of you probably know, I suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). In fact, I think I've probably mentioned it on here before. What you may not know is that I suffer from a much worse case than many of my other cysters. While many women can live a fairly normal life, and may not even know they have it until dealing with infertility, I cannot.

For the past 3 months or so I've been dealing with a particularly bad episode. My hormones are all out of wack and I am in constant pain. There's really not much they can do other than give me pain medication and put me back on HBC. The HBC can take up to 3 months to work, if it works at all. I may need to switch to a new brand after 3 months (it has been 2 with this one). So, I just stay drugged up 24/7. And if I miss a dose or take it too late the consequences are quite dire. Quite a bit of the time Josh has to bring it to me in bed as I'm in too much pain to get it myself.

Lately it has actually been getting worse. Even after taking one pill I am still in a large amount of pain. The other day I actually passed out for a few seconds (or minutes? I'm not sure I was passed out lol) from the pain. So I have to get even *more* drugged up.

What is the point of me writing all this? Well I am not myself when I am drugged up. I obviously can't drive, so I've been holed up in the house. I haven't been able to work, either. I haven't officially quit not have I been fired but at this point I'm not holding out hope that my job will still be there when I get better. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have also become even more antisocial than normal. I don't want to talk to anybody or see anybody in person because I'm not myself and that embarrasses me. My sister's wedding is coming up (and associated parties) and I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with that. I'm supposed to be in the darn thing and she's going to have these pictures for the rest of her life. I don't want to ruin them.

Basically my point is if you see me acting like a fool and talking funny, it's not my fault. If you see me crying in pain, give me a hug. I could use one.

Teal is the color for PCOS (and Ovarian Cancer) support. The image above is from [here], where you can buy PCOS support ribbons, postcards, pillows, and other paraphernalia. This one is my favorite and I would love to have it if it's wasn't for that whole not working thing.

What a Sad, Sad Day

Yesterday my wonderful husband went to the store for me since I have been unable to for the past like three weeks or something dumb like that. He got me my favorite things ever - Walmart brand hamburger dill pickle chips.

[source]

As I was picking them up off the counter to put into the fridge the unthinkable happened. CRASH! There goes all my lovely, delicious, pickles on to the floor.... If it wasn't for all the tiny pieces of glass I might have been tempted to find the ones who weren't touching the floor and save them. =(

Thankfully no one was hurt - not even a scratch. But even better than that my fantastical husby had been wise enough to get more than one jar of pickles. =D

Just part of my 99%

As some of you know, I applied for a promotion at work several weeks ago. I recently found out that I did not get it. Instead the position was given to another internal candidate from Tallahassee who has been with the company several years longer than I have. Despite how long he's been with the company, I still know more about *our* store than he does, but I digress. He's a nice enough guy and I'm sure he deserved it.

I have since decided that although I did not get this position, it is very important that I find full time employment. We need more money. I need health insurance. I am not going to school over the summer so I'll certainly have the time. So if my local readers know of anything, I would appreciate you letting me know.

I know that saying I'm looking for a new job publicly on the internet can be risky. I'm not too worried about it though as my boss (and hers) already know what I have decided. There is a chance that my position will be converted into a full time one in order for me to stay, but I am certainly not counting on it.

Swagbucks

Near the beginning of March I started my account with Swagbucks.com (note: this is my referral link). At first I was skeptical and thought it might be a pyramid scheme, but now I'm really glad I stuck with it.

Since I started my account I have earned enough swagbucks to get $10 in Amazon.com gift cards and am halfway to my next $5. This was done all on my own without the help of any referrals. Whenever I search the web I use their search engine first, and if I don't find what I'm looking for I try the search engine I used before. Each time you search you have a chance to win up to 50 bucks (at least, that's the most I've seen). I usually make about 10. Those of you who are on my facebook have probably seen the posts from when I've won bucks this way.

There are also "free" bucks you can earn everyday by taking the poll, going through the NOSO path, and visiting the Trusted Survey page. I also take the surveys if I've got more than a 50% chance of qualifying. For 15 minutes of answering questions about which movies I want to see I can get 100 bucks, so why not? They also have tons of videos you can watch on the site, giving you three bucks every time you watch 10 (most I've watched were under 2 minutes long and you can still do other stuff while they play).

Right now they are doing Mom Madness on their blog. Every week day you can earn 6 bucks by voting for your favorite mom, until the ultimate mom is crowned winner. It's fun and interesting to see who wins each round; the bucks are just the icing on the cake.

I really suggest those who search the web a lot like I do (and even those who don't) sign up for this service. I would love for you to use my link as they match all referrals first 1000 bucks (which equals to ~$12 in gift cards) but I'm not suggesting *just* because I would benefit. I'd feel bad keeping this opportunity to myself.

Leave the Scar!

Implicit Association Tests

As part of my Marriage and Family sociology class, I was asked to take the Sexuality IAT on this website. It's free and only takes about 10 minutes, so you should go check it out yourself.

The test shows you two group headings, one on the left and one on the right. As images and words pop up you are supposed to sort them using the E key for left and I key for right. The order of word sets is randomized, but I first had bad on one side and good on the other. The words were pretty easy, tragic for bad and beautiful for good as an example. Then I had gay people on one side and straight people on the other. This time sometimes words were shown (like homosexual or heterosexual), or pictures such as a man and woman in wedding attire or two women. But then they put the two word sets together...

My first set like this had both bad and gay people on the left with good and straight people on the right. Words describing good or bad were shown in green, while pictures/words depicting sexual orientation were in white. The words/pictures didn't have to correspond to both words on the correct side, just one depending on the color.

After that section I did it again, only with the words reversed. Bad was with straight people and good was with gay people. Your automatic preference for one sexual orientation over the other is figured out by which group you finish the fastest and with the least amount of errors, straight people with good or gay people with good.

My results were "little to no automatic preference between Gay People and Straight People." =]

(source)

What was your results? What do you think about this test, is it accurate?

If my heart was still beating, it would beat for you.

My husby is super smart.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic. :P

One of my husband's papers recently received an Honorable Mention from the Florida Collegiate Honors Council. He is, apparently, the first one from his school to be get an award since the current advisor has been in change of the program.

We (or he, actually, I'm just tagging along) have been invited to their annual conference where he will be presented with his award along with $50. Then the next day is a pirate themed Riverboat Cruise which I am quite excited for!

I am beyond proud of him for everything he has accomplished so far, and know he will continue to do great things in the future. He is so smart and talented and I feel blessed to be able to call myself his wife. This is just the beginning for him, I'm sure!

Happy Birthday to some very special people.

Instead of writing several posts for everyone, I'm just going to combine my birthday well-wishing into this one post for everyone who was born in February.

First I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my favorite little sister, Sierra Maggie. She turned 12 on the 8th. It's odd thinking that she is now older than I was when she was born. I was terribly upset when I found out I would no longer be the baby, but now I can't imagine my life without you.

Next is my husband Josh's 25th birthday, which was yesterday (the 11th). I would like to thank him for saving me from my fate of turning into an old cat lady. Now the only place I have cats in the double digits is in the Facebook app Happy Pets. XD I love you whole bunches!

Then there is the lovely Jessica, whom I have known and loved since 3rd grade. Are we to the age where it is no longer proper to say what our age is yet? I'll just say that she will celebrate the 2nd anniversary of her 21st birthday on the 18th :P Only 38 days and 10 hours until I can get you your birthday present! (the website did the calculating, not me. I'm not that much of a nerd lol)

And finally we have Rebecca, my adopted band-mother, whose birthday is on the 26th. I don't get to see Skittles as often as I would like now that she lives in Tally, but she will always be important to me. I got you a present while in Mexico, so please let me know if you will be in town for your birthday!

These four people are partly responsible for making me the person I am today, so I am immensely grateful to their parents for spawning them.

Thank the gods for Special Report interruptions

This morning Josh and I were at the doctor's office, because we're cool and sickly like that. Unfortunately for us we arrived just in time to watch The View.

I quite honestly cannot understand why anyone would willingly watch this show. It's not that I disagree with them, I don't even know if I *do* because I can't stand to watch them long enough to figure out what they think. All I hear when they are on is one angry woman talking over another increasingly angry woman, with each woman getting more shrill as they talk over each other. It was only on for about 10 minutes before I started to get a migraine.

Thankfully then ABC interrupted with a Special Report. I feel indebted to the people of Egypt, whose perseverance over the last 18 days worked to spare me from this torture.

Baby Idol 2011

My friend Jessica's little boy Atticus is in the running for Baby Idol 2011. Isn't he just the cutest thing? How can you not want to hop over to the Island 106 website and vote for him?! You do have to sign up for an account with the website but it's really quick and easy. I don't *think* you have to live in Panama City in order to vote. He's baby #12.

Why shaving and pain medication don't mix

1. You will miss quite a few spots. Some of them rather large and surprising.


2. You might end up accidentally shaving one of your finger nails. This will be quite painful.


3. It will take twice as long as normal.


4. Did I mention the fingernail thing?

Reality Check - You are not the luckiest person in the world

Recently I've heard a lot of similar statements from some very umm... interesting people.

"I'm the happiest woman alive!"

"I'm the luckiest man in the world!"

"I've got the best husband in the universe!"

Hate to break it to you, but it's not true. You're just fooling yourself. Not that you shouldn't be happy about your situation, because you should be (at least sometimes), you just need to be realistic about it.

Using these statements just make me think you are hiding something. That you are making up for your shortcomings or unhappiness. That you are delusional. And it can sometimes be a bit insulting. I know you don't mean it that way, but saying you have the best husband in the world is implying that my husband isn't. That your husband, your life, your situation is better than mine and everyone else's.

It's also sometimes just laughable. Take this scenario for instance:

So I thought we got paid on the forth when really we got paid on the eleventh. Now I've bounced three checks and can't afford anything. I'm already two weeks late on my car payment, but my husband has offered to cover it for me so it doesn't get repo'd. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

If you were really the luckiest girl in the world you wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. I'd think most husbands would do what they could to keep their wives cars from being repo'd. If I was him, I might take away your check book as well since this seems to be a theme with you. But I digress...

I offer instead simply saying "I feel like..." instead of "I am..." Then I wouldn't feel the need to point out everything that's wrong with your life to prove you wrong.

Addictions

Tia over at Bizchickblogs is hosting a giveaway for Addict Nation, a book by Jane Velez-Mitchell and Sandra Mohr. To enter all you have to do is write a blog, make a video, draw a cartoon, post anything about addictions. So, here I go.

I believe we as a society throw around the word "addiction" too much. We say "I'm totally addicted to twitter" or "He's addicted to his stupid video games and won't spend time with me!" But are we really, truly, addicted to these things? Will we seriously go through withdrawal without them? I think not. *

Most people, I'm sure, would say I was addicted to the internet. I use it first thing in the morning when I get up and it's often the last thing I do before bed. I spend more time on the internet every week than I do most other things combined. It is my entertainment and often my support group. I check my favorite websites from my Blackberry whenever I'm away from the computer and have a few moments to spare.

Yet I can say, with certainty, that I am not addicted to the internet.

And how is that, you ask? (And if you didn't, just play along) Because I spent a whole week without it and didn't even miss it. While on our cruise this past December I had no contact with the mainland world. No facebook, no email, no blogging, no youtube, nothing. And yet, I didn't even mind because I was enjoying myself so thoroughly with my husband on our vacation. I could have paid some outstanding fees to connect anyway if I wanted to, but I didn't. A true addict would have.

Some people really have addictions. My mother really is/was addicted to Coke (the soda XD). She has worked hard not to have a dependency on caffeine. I believe that by throwing around the word addiction like we do we are undermining the significance of real addictions.

*I suppose it is possible to be addicted to twitter or video games, but I am willing to bet that a true addiction to those things is rare. Don't take that as an absolute statement though, just in case. =)

Perfect time to be sick.

My co-worker decided it would be a good idea to come to work with bronchitis, and pass it along to me. How thoughtful of her.

But at least it gives me a good reason to eat lots of potato soup, drink lots of root beer (my go-t0 drink of choice when ill), and sleep all day. I mean come on, that's stuff I usually want to do anyway!

It does kind of make me feel like Storm, though. The conditions outside seem quite similar to how I feel. I tried to use my psionic ability to create snow instead of rain, but it did work. Oh well.

My sincerest apologies to anyone named Adriana.

I have been hacked.

I do not know quite how it happened. As far as I can tell I do not have any keyloggers on my computer, nor have I been the victim of a phishing scam.

However, I was recently greeted by this message upon logging into my email account:

WARNING: We believe your account was recently accessed from: WI.

I was pleased to see that they didn't spam my whole address book, but they did decide to pick on people named Adriana. Apparently the hackers think that Adrianas are fat because they sent out several messages hailing the wonders of Acai Berries. So not only have they spammed these poor people, but also insulted them. This makes me a sad panda.

For the record, if your name is Adriana I personally will not assume you are fat. I mean, just take a look at these women. I doubt they need the help of Acai Berries.

Darn you Skittles, and your stupid contest too!

Skittles recently announced a contest on their Facebook fan page. Contestants were urged to submit what they would be willing to do in order to win a Skittles vending machine filled with new Skittles Blenders. You could enter once a day.

I love me some Skittles, so I obviously entered multiple times.

And then the day to vote came.... see, you couldn't vote while entries where open, only once they had been closed. I looked and looked through the entries for mine but none were to be found. In fact, it didn't look like there were very many entries at all. On the wall of the fan page I saw several people with the same complaint as me.

How am I supposed to win a contest when my entry is not available to be voted for? I couldn't even get a sympathy vote from my husband. I had lost without being given a fair chance.

And to add insult to injury the entries I did see weren't even good. Some of them didn't even answer the question! In first place is a video by some dude who is, quite frankly, annoying. Also in the top ten are pictures of people's kids who love Skittles. It doesn't say what they would do in order to win the prize, just that their kids like candy. Well duh they like candy, they're kids!

To be fair, there is also an image of a man who made a mask out of Skittles glued to his face and a write-in entry saying they would fill a pool with skittles for a skittles pool party... but over all I am not impressed. Uploading a picture of your cat with a bag of Skittles may be cute, but it isn't exactly what the contest is about.

Accepting defeat I went out and bought my own 14oz bag of Skittles Blenders. I wouldn't have any place to put a vending machine anyway.

A sure fire way to get people to take the stairs

Volkswagen has started something they term The Fun Theory, which is "the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better." One way they've done this is by creating a giant piano out of stairs. There is an escalator right next to it leading to the same place, but that's no fun, is it? Take a look at this video:

Now I'm just waiting for someone to organize a flash mob around it.

Other things they've done is create a "speed camera lottery". Speeders get photographed and receive a citation. People abiding by the speed limit get entered into a lottery for a chance to win part of the money collected from said citations. That's definitely a lottery I would participate in!

Remus Lupin as H.I.V metaphor?

I recently started an account over at Quora, which is kind of a Q&A social networking site. People ask questions, and then provide answers. You can follow certain broad topics (such as Harry Potter, for example) and then questions about that topic show up in your feed. You can also decide to follow individual questions.

About half way down my feed I saw this question, asking "In Harry Potter, does J.K. Rowling use lycanthropy as a metaphor for HIV/AIDS?". The answer, surprisingly to me, was yes. I thought I was a pretty big HP fan so the fact that I never knew this surprised me. Am I the only one who never connected the two? Anytime I would hear anything of the sort I would brush it off as internet rumors. however, she states quite clearly in this transcript that is it so. Just CTRL-F H.I.V and see for yourself.

Well, first Mr. Vander Ark does occasionally give the meaning of the names I've given to my characters. I would think this is a very, very obvious one to explain. Generally he does go to the obvious ones. This is a double allusion to the fact this character is a werewolf, so there is Remus, who is one of the brothers who was raised by wolves in Roman anthology, and Lupin, which comes from "lupine," wolf-like. But there was more on Lupin. And again, it should have been easy to anyone writing a -- genuinely attempting to write a guide. I know that I've said publicly that Remus Lupin was supposed to be on the H.I.V. metaphor. It was someone who had been infected young, who suffered stigma, who had a fear of infecting others, who was terrified he would pass on his condition to his son. And it was a way of examining prejudice, unwarranted prejudice towards a group of people. And also, examining why people might become embittered when they're treated that unfairly.

imgfave

I recently stumbled upon this website called imgfave (although I didn't actually use stumbleupon to find it, that gave me a nasty virus once). It's basically the pandora of pictures. You "fave" pictures you like, either on the site itself or elsewhere on the web via their bookmark bar button, and then it suggests other pictures you might like.

The suggest feature is still in beta so it isn't perfect yet. At one point it decided I loved sappy sayings with a raindrop background. Apparently I'm an emo kid, non-conforming as can be. You'd be non-conforming too if you looked just like me! But it's still worth it, because the gems are waiting to be found. Here are some of my favorites.

I have a whole collection of Harry Potter ones, as well.

I like lightning.

The lightning bolt sets fire to combustibles and damages objects in its path. It can melt metals with a low melting point, such as lead, gold, copper, silver, or bronze. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the bolt may continue beyond the barrier if the spell’s range permits; otherwise, it stops at the barrier just as any other spell effect does.

[The image is a real person, painted with body paint (not 'shopped) by artist Craig Tracy. Check out his gallery for more amazing body art.]

When it comes to gaming I noticed I gravitate towards two things: healing and lightning. If I can do both, even better! I love how lightning is pure, raw power and I'm the one wielding it. I also find that it offers a sense of familiarity regardless of the game. Lightning, and those who wield it, can be found in most genres. I can be a wizard/sorcerer, a druid, a shaman when it comes to traditional fantasy. I can use Captain Marvel's "Shazam" lightning bolt in the DC universe. I can play a Emperor Palpatine-esque character in the upcoming Star Wars MMO. When looking at a new game it's always easy to figure out which class is for me, unless none of them have lightning powers!

Do you have a favorite "style" of character you gravitate towards?

100% Pure, Frozen, Concentrated

Name change! I figured since Frozen OJ is my handle everywhere else, I might as well be consistent. It's not like I had a facebook page or twitter with my old name anyway, so if I'm going to change now would be the best time.

The only reason I didn't name my blog something along these lines to begin with was that I had once long ago... and forgot about it within a week. Didn't want to jinx myself, you know? But now I've decided it just makes more sense, seeing as it's my name *every where* else.

My dreams have come true!

That's right, folks. Russell vs Boston Rob. I didn't even watch the last season, but you can bet I'm gonna watch this one! There was even a FB page made asking for this last May. February 16th needs to hurry itself up.

If the winner has to be one of these two (and not one of the 16 new players), who would you pick?

No, this is not a euphemism

I was recently given a link to a video which would teach me "The Real Way to Eat a Banana". Obviously I was quite skeptical of anything described as such, but it really is just a video explaining proper banana opening etiquette. I am 22 (almost 23!) years old and feel ashamed to admit I had been opening bananas the wrong way my whole life. We don't have any bananas in the house, but I will definitely try this the next time we get some. From what I hear this decreases the amount of stringy things that plague your banana eating experience.

I was also told about a new method of dispensing ketchup, but that appears to merely be a spoof and not practical instruction.

Love Languages

I've heard a lot about Gary Chapman's "Love Languages" books, so while we were at the Goodwill bookstore I picked up a copy for $4. I haven't read it yet, but am looking forward to it. Josh and I have already taken the quiz and this is how we came out:

Josh

10 - Words of Affirmation

"Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten."

07 - Physical Touch

06 - Quality Time

05 - Acts of Service

02 - Receiving Gifts

Me

10 - Quality Time

"In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there–with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby–makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful."

10 - Physical touch

06 - Acts of Service

03 - Words of Affirmation

01 - Receiving Gifts

We both scored high on Physical Touch, "This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive." and we both scored low on Receiving Gifts, which is probably a good thing considering how poor we are. XD

Mine seem pretty obvious since I luuuuvs to cuddle and always ask Josh to spend quality time with me. At first I was surprised to see Josh score so high on Words of Affirmation, but now that I've thought about it it makes tons of sense. I can't see it so much in how he reacts to words of affirmation from me, as much as how he uses them to show me he loves me. From the tiny bit I've read in the book it seems we tend to show others love in the way it means the most to us.

Anyway it seems really interesting. Josh and I aren't struggling in our marriage by any means, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use any available resource to make it even better.

"We don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it"

A woman shared this video with a forum I frequent when the subject of education reform was brought up. This man is hilarious and makes some very interesting, and true, points about how our education system stifles creativity. While that was fine in the days of old when your future was to be a factory worker, today we *need* the creative minds in order to advance.

What is family?

This semester I'm taking a class on the sociology of marriage and families. Our first assignment is a discussion on the following questions:

1. Find a definition of “family” embedded in a social policy, program, or law. The definition may be implicit rather than explicit. To give you just a few examples, what relationships are considered “family” in our federal law providing employment leaves to care for family members (i.e., The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993)? Which family members could be included in your health insurance “family” or “spouse” policy? Which family members could join under your “family membership” at the YMCA?

2. If you were creating a definition of family, what would it be? Would it be consistent with the definition you found for Question 1 or not? What criteria would you use in determining whether a particular relationship should count as a family relationship? For example, would DNA play a role? Legal contracts, like marriage or adoption? Emotional investment? Identity as a family? Length of relationship? Living arrangements? Other criteria? Which criteria are most important, and why? In developing your definition, be sure to consider how it will treat relationships that have tended to be inconsistently viewed – like cohabiting couples, gay families, and stepfamilies.

I haven't looked up the answer to question one yet, but I know that for me it would be too narrow. In the large scheme of things I think anyone who thinks of themselves as a family, is a family. However I also think the definition that matters to most (as far as legislation goes) would be immediate family rather than just family. My best guess at this point of an adequate definition of immediate family would be those who share your household and have an intimate (but not necessarily sexual) relationship with you.

This could be your "normal" family of mom, dad, kids. Or it could be one parent with kids, two married adults without kids, one parent a step parent and kids, etc. BUT it would also include those are aren't normally included when it comes to such things like health insurance currently. Co-habiting couples of any sexuality, your more traditional family and your sick dependent aunt, you and your best friend who have a very close but completely platonic relationship, etc.

What do you think qualifies as a family?

P.S. The picture is of my family, as well as some friends at my cousin's birthday dinner.

Panda Cow

Since Pandas don't seem to like breeding very much, and it costs something like $1million dollars to rent one from China, might as well just make our own right? Ben (the newborn cow pictured) joins 23 other miniature cows born to look like a panda thanks to genetic manipulation. Since they aren't really Pandas, it'll only cost you $30,000 to own one as a pet.

Back to the grind

Well, today marks the end of my series of vacations. I won't get anymore time off until Spring Break (which just happens to start my birthday weekend!). I wonder if the bookstore is open during Spring Break... I should ask when I go in today.

Like I've said in previous posts, I like my job. I really do. But this waking up while its still morning thing? Not so much. On Thursdays I have an 8am class. I have no idea what compelled me to sign up for that.

No resolution posts for me this year. I know it's what all the cool kids are doing, but I'm just nonconformist like that. I'll stick to my trend of New Years Indecisiveness instead. Because hey, when I give that up in two weeks it'll be a good thing!